On cultural legitimization of comics

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Comics, considered as lowbrow products, have achieved a certain level of legitimization today. Our research aims to examine the relationships between comics and art, education, and cultural politics. We have conducted our research in two ways. Firstly, we took up a 19^<th> century Genevan writer Rodolphe Topffer and his cultural struggles to achieve recognition. We could define the difficulty he faced and his strategy for promoting his comic works through a close reading of his theoretical texts. Secondly, we have surveyed various methodologies to assess the level of legitimization of comics today in Japan and France, taking into consideration differences in the relation between comics and arts, position of children in the society, educational system. We have also made some suggestions for the future of international comics studies.